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"The
greatest love is a mother’s;
Then comes a dog’s,
Then comes a sweetheart’s."
Polish
Proverb
Ok, but now what happens when the mother is a dog? Or
what happens when the dog's mother is a cat? ...or when the
mother cat (in this case, a lion) is the mother of
an antelope (in this case, a meal)?
Mothering proverbs are getting awfully complicated this time of
year.
According to Congress, October was named National
Adoption Month in the United States. But since dogs enter
estrus ("heat
cycle") every six months, there really ought to be an Adoption
Month in April as well. Come to think of it, since a dog's year
is only 52 days, then we ought to have seven Adoption Months.
Are you thoroughly confused? Well, hold on to your bandanas;
it gets a lot weirder...
Part I:
Doberman Adopts Kittens
"If
we are needy, how can we care well for a much needier baby?"
Sally
Placksin
Mothering the New Mother (1994)
KITCHENER, ON (Canada) — Being
in need of a mother herself didn't stop "Marilyn" from
playing mother to five homeless kittens. The stray Doberman
Pinscher wandered into the kitten area of the Kitchener-Waterloo
Humane Society and promptly began trying to nurse a litter of
kitties whose true mother was too ill to care for them.
When the cat's away, the [dog] will play. (Photo: The
Record)
Marilyn had been taken in by the humane society last month after
they found her on the streets "timid, dehydrated and so thin her ribs were
showing," reports The
Record. The black and tan Dobie appeared to have been
used strictly for breeding and was very frightened of people.
In an effort to socialize the cowering pooch, shelter
workers let Marilyn out of her cage so that she could mix with
visitors. But when the three-year-old dog heard the wails of
newborn kittens, she headed straight for the room where workers were
trying to bottle-feed the litter.
Workers were amazed when the big dog, who had probably delivered
puppies not long ago, responded to their cries and began nosing and
licking them. Humane Society worker Mark Womack said that the
kittens tried to nurse, but the dog's milk supply was gone, so Marilyn
simply "lay on the floor and they crawled all over her."
The pseudo-family became inseparable, and eventually the humane
society was forced to accommodate them together in their own private
"maternity ward."
"We decided it was good for her and good for the
kittens," said Mr. Womack. "She's come right out of her
shell with these kittens."
The sight has thrilled many onlookers who previously may have believed in
the misconception that Dobermans are fearsome monsters. Mr.
Womack jokes, "Big bad guard dog becomes loving mom."
Word of the spectacle reached far and wide. More than 200 dog
lovers from as far away as Halifax and Kentucky flooded the humane
society with an interest in adopting Marilyn, who came to be known as
"the Dobermom".
The shelter said that
she will go to the best possible home some time this week. About
50 callers also expressed interest in adopting some of the kittens who
will be made available for adoption about a week from now.
For more information, visit: www.kwhumane.com.
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Part II:
Cat Adopts Labrador
"Since
there will never cease
to be some in need on the earth,
I therefore command you,
'Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.' "
Bible
Hebrew 15:11, Deuteronomy
SAVANNAH, GA (USA) — When
this newborn puppy is old enough to open her eyes, she may get the
surprise of a lifetime. She'll see for the first time that her
mother, brothers and sisters are all tortoiseshell cats. But that's
not the surprise; the surprise is that she's a dog.
Can you spot the puppy?
Hint: she's the only one not purring. (Photo: Bob Morris / Savannah
News)
The days-old pup had been found by Animal Control with her eyes
still closed and her umbilical cord still attached, reports the Savannah
Morning News. Due to her fragile condition, the motherless Labrador mix
required special care at the home of Naomi Cook, a veterinary technician
at the Humane
Society of Chatham-Savannah. In another room, Ms. Cook was also
fostering a mother cat and her 3-week-old kittens, also homeless.
One day, Ms. Cook noticed that the crying puppy had suddenly become silent.
Concerned, the woman went in to check on her and found that the mother cat
was nursing the puppy.
"It nurses with the kittens, sleeps with the kittens," Ms.
Cook describes. "I didn't know whether to separate them or not. Every
time I pulled her away, she'd start whining, and the mother cat kept going
back to her."
Tender Loving Cat.
(Photo: Bob Morris / Savannah News)
Humane society director Rob Lee comments, "The care the puppy's
getting from the mama cat is as important as the nourishment from the milk."
He adds that eventually, after the pup has grown a bit and developed an
immune system, she'll be much stronger. But, he says, "right now, the puppy's kind of a doormat for the
kittens."
Big kitty beats up on little sister.
"Just you wait... I'm drinking my milk!"
(Photo: Bill Morris / Savannah News)
For more information, visit:
www.savannah-humane.com.
Proceed to Part III:
Lion Adopts Antelope
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